An Unexpected Romance
by Martha Earnshaw
Summary: It is the summer after sixth year and Harry, Hermione and Ron have gone horcrux hunting. Ginny is left at the Burrow. However there is an unwelcome guest - Draco Malfoy. Can the two put their differences aside as something beautiful develops between them?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One - An unexpected guest**

Ginny, Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat at the table at Number 12 Grimmauld Place. They were waiting for an Order member to come and tell them if they were going to stay there or not. They had already been waiting a couple of hours. Just as Harry opened his mouth to comment on how long they were waiting, right on cue, Remus Lupin burst through the fireplace dusting himself off and appearing very stressed.

"It's absolutely manic!" he burst out. "I've just met with Kingsley to discuss this situation. Since this place was protected by the Fidelius Charm and Dumbledore was the Secret Keeper, now that he is dead we don't think the protections will hold anymore. Voldemort has gained so much power, he's going to take over Hogwarts. We've discovered that that is his plan."

"What? So Hogwarts is going to be run by Death Eaters! We can't let that happen!" Harry yelled.

"There isn't anything anyone can do about it just yet," Lupin sighed. "anyone who protests is getting killed. Since it's the safest place to be right now, you four are to stay at the Burrow which is now the new Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. It's under the Fidelius Charm and I am the Secret Keeper. You four will be safe there."

Harry had a look of fierce determination on his face as he said "Hermione, Ron and I can't hide, we have to go and do a job that Dumbledore left for us."

Lupin sighed in resignation. "I had a feeling you might say something like that. But at least come to the burrow with us first. Molly would be terribly upset if she didn't get to see you before you went to accomplish your task" Harry reluctantly agreed to accompany Lupin to The Burrow.

Ginny was having an internal struggle as this conversation went on. Her heart ached at the fact that her ex boyfriend was going out into the dangerous world against Voldemort. Even though she knew that he had broken up with her to protect her she still felt a cold pain when she thought about him. Yet she managed to put on a face as if it didn't matter to her half as much as it did. She kept to her lively ways while she was around people so they wouldn't know how dejected she was. Showing her true feelings would only make this harder for Harry. She came out of her reverie to find that Lupin was speaking again.

"There's something else as well. Well…I wasn't going to tell you all until later but I should warn you that there will be an unexpected guest staying at the burrow, since it is the safest place right now."

"Who is it?" asked Ginny curiously.

"I'll tell you, but hear me out before you explode. It's Draco Malfoy, he-"

"What?! That bastard, no way is he staying at my house. He let Death Eaters into school!" yelled Ron furiously.

Lupin sighed. "He turned himself in a couple of days ago to the mercy of the order. He hasn't said much, but he's injured and he escaped from the Malfoy Manor - Voldemort's headquarters - at great personal risk. He's obviously realised that he made a lot of bad choices but he's just a teenager. Now he needs to hide, since Voldemort obviously knows he's changed sides. I know he hasn't exactly been a good person and he has done some terrible things but I think he's changed. Most of the order agreed that whilst we should keep a close eye on him we should accept him. Doesn't everyone deserve a second chance?"

"Malfoy is responsible for Dumbledore's death!" Harry retorted.

"No, Harry. Snape would have killed him anyway. They would have found a way in without Malfoy."

"Great, so I'm gonna have to put up with Malfoy for the rest of the year." complained Ginny. It was a stormy party that left for the burrow. Ginny momentarily forgot her annoyance about Malfoy as she excitedly greeted her parents and older brothers. After the greetings however, everyone looked grave.

"So you've heard about the bouncing ferret then?" asked Fred. Ginny sighed and Fred took that as agreement.

"Don't worry dears," reassured Molly "he's not going to cause any trouble."

"He's still here." complained Ginny.

"Where's he sleeping?" demanded Ron. The room fell into an awkward silence.

"Er…well, there isn't much room now so, we've had to …. Put him in with you and Harry." whispered Molly. For a while the room was silent and Ginny took this opportunity to slip out of the room unnoticed. She did not want to stay and hear the argument which would definitely ensue. As she started up the stairs she caught the glimpse of a blond head retreating towards the landing at the top of the stairs. He had clearly been listening to the conversation downstairs. As she headed up the stairs he realised she had seen him and gave her a nod of acknowledgement then hurriedly stormed into his room and slammed the door. Ginny had seen his face for a few seconds before he closed the door and was surprised that she had not seen an arrogant smirk or a look of contempt. Instead there was a slight look of fear in his eyes, a look of uncertainty. She wondered why he had chosen to leave Voldemort. As she sat down on her bed, trying to ignore the increasing volume of the shouting downstairs. It was impossible. After a while she heard silence downstairs and a knock at the door.

"Come in." Harry entered the room and she gave him a weak smile.

"Are you alright?" he asked her.

"I'm fine."

"I just wanted to tell you that Ron, Hermione and I will be leaving in the morning."

"So soon?" Ginny asked, trying to hide the disappointment on her face.

"Well, we were going to leave at the end of the week but…with Malfoy here we can't stand to stay here any longer. We'll be gone when you wake tomorrow. I-I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too." Ginny turned her head to hide the tears that were starting to appear in her eyes. She fell silent and because of the awkwardness, Harry left the room saying goodbye.

During dinner that night the tension could have been cut with a knife. Even Molly's strained attempts to initiate conversation between Malfoy and everyone else were not much help. Molly was obviously only doing it because it was necessary. Nobody responded to it very well. Ginny noticed that Malfoy had a bandage round his arm and his face was bruised. He did not try to attempt any conversation with anyone but politely answered the questions he was asked.

"How is your arm today Draco?" asked Molly.

"Much better thank you." he answered politely. His face was devoid of its usual smirk. His answers seemed distant and empty of emotion. Ginny suddenly felt a surge of pity for the boy. He really seemed different to how he was before. He must have really changed his opinions on some huge things to turn his back on his father's views on blood purity and Voldemort. The fact that he was staying with the Weasleys without any scorn was enough to show Ginny that he had changed. It would be nice if they could get on enough to hold some civilised conversation seeing as they would be the only ones left at the burrow who were not in the order - Draco because he was not trusted enough for that and Ginny because she was not yet of age.

While Draco conversed in polite small talk with Molly Weasley, Ron and Harry simply sat there eating and glowering across the table. Ginny noticed that, far from trying to antagonise the two boys, Draco was trying to avoid their gaze entirely. As far as she could tell he had not made eye contact with anyone since the start of the meal. She remembered how pleased she had been to greet her family, to be welcomed back into the arms of her parents and brothers. Draco would never have that again because he'd turned his back on his parents. The thought made Ginny think better of him. If he had the strength to do that then he must be stronger than she'd thought. The rest of the evening was uneventful. After dinner everyone went to their respective rooms and went straight to bed. Ginny shut her eyes for sleep that night knowing that when she woke up in the morning the trio would be gone and that thought made her feel very lonely.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two - Weaselette and Ferret**

Although The Burrow was full of people - Bill, Fred, George, Molly, Arthur, Draco and Charlie all lived there and many other people from the order like Remus, Kingsley, Moody and Tonks were constantly in the house for order meetings - Ginny Weasley felt very alone. Whenever the order meetings were taking place she had to stay out of the way, usually in her room. She had had several flaming arguments with her mother about this. She was nearly of age and she had every right to join the order. It wasn't like she didn't know the risks involved. She scowled at the thought of it. Although nobody was hostile to Draco now and Molly went out of her way to make him feel welcome, she could tell he felt terribly out of place. She was perceptive enough to understand how alone and deserted he must feel. Molly evidently was thinking along the same lines, as one day she approached Ginny.

"Ginny, love, I want to ask you to do something. Draco seems a little bit lonely. I don't think its good for him to spend all that time up in his room alone. While we have this order meeting why don't you both sit together in the library? I've already told him to sit in the library during the meeting but would you try to make him feel more welcome."

Ginny agreed because she too felt sorry for the boy, even if he had been a total git at Hogwarts she admired him for having the guts to leave the death eaters and turn his back on his family. So, gritting her teeth she walked up to the library where she knew Draco would be sitting. She found him sat at a table seemingly reading but she was sure he was just staring at the pages since his eyes weren't moving. He looked up when she entered the room.

"Hey." she said tentatively. He nodded his head to her

"Hello."

"Are you ok?"

"Yes, I'm alright."

"Er…I was just wondering, what made you do it? What made you change your mind about…" she trailed off into silence unsure of how to continue. He stared up at her with a hard look in his eyes.

"What made me change my mind about being a death eater?" he spat "I don't think that's any of your business. I take it you don't disapprove of your decision. Now, if you don't mind I'm reading." He returned his gaze to his book with a stormy expression much more like the Malfoy of old. She simply stared at him for a few minutes.

"Weaselette, it is very hard to concentrate on my book with you staring at me like that!" he said, glaring at her fiercely.

"Obviously, Ferret, you're not reading it," she retorted "you haven't turned a page since I got here."

"I have a name you know!" he added furiously.

"So do I!"

"And your point is?"

"If you're going to call me Weaselette, then I'm going to call you Ferret!" All thoughts that Malfoy had changed from being a total git were fast returning whence they came. Even if he'd changed his opinion on blood status - which could just be cowardice - he obviously hadn't changed his temperament. But they were fast approaching shouting tones and she was worried that they would hear downstairs. Evidently Malfoy had been thinking along the same lines as he continued in a lower tone.

"Alright…..Ginny," he said reluctantly "you may call me Draco."

"Wow, thanks." she answered sarcastically. He just scowled.

"My god! I don't know if I can stand living in this house for a year with that scowl." she said. He smirked.

"What?" she said annoyed.

"You're scowling too" he said smugly.

"Well I'm not surprised, I'm in a room with you it's impossible not to scowl."

"Generally people enjoy being in a room with me We-…Ginny."

"Generally people don't act like total jerks but there you go."

"Yes it's true but if you want to be unique that's fine with me."

She had a terrible glare on her face now. "I am about this close to hexing you."

"Awww come on you have to admit that one was funny" he drawled.

"It was not funny!" she snapped, but a small and reluctant grin belied her words.

"See you're laughing," he said with a smug smirk.

"I'm not laughing at that, I'm laughing at your stupidity." she retorted but it lacked the malice of previous comments and had a more joking tone to it. He laughed along with afterwards and he seemed fully relaxed for the first time she had seen him at The Burrow. His eyes were no longer cold and hard but had a softened expression in their silver tones. She found that after their initial disagreement she was enjoying his company.

"You miss him don't you?" he enquired.

"If you mean Harry, then obviously, not that it's any of your business." she snapped.

"Do you think he'll succeed in his task? I have my doubts."

"Oh, it doesn't surprise me that you don't think much of him but you spent the last six years making his life hell so I don't know why you would want to enquire about him now!"

"Obviously a simple enquiry of your lover boy is too much for you. Well it's not my fault he dumped you is it?" he said sharply. All laughter had gone from his eyes and he was wearing a look that could kill. She was shocked a little as he stood up suddenly and headed towards the door.

"A-are you leaving." she asked.

"Yes." he replied curtly, pausing with his hand on the door knob "I know where I'm not wanted." His tone sounded so sad.. And there was still quite a bit of the meeting to go. Ginny didn't really mind having Malfoy's company if it meant she wasn't alone. She'd never felt so alone in her life as she did now without the bustling halls of Hogwarts and all her friends. Even though there were people in the house, they were all busy and did not have much time for her. When she was with people she could forget about the pain, however, when she was alone she no longer had to put on a brave face and all the feelings came crashing down on her.

"You - I don't want you to leave." she said tentatively.

"Why?" he snapped, his eyes blazing.

"Because…well…you're not so bad really, to be around." Draco let his arm drop from the door knob and went to sit back down next to Ginny sighing.

"It's not like I have anywhere better to go or anyone better to talk to" he sighed. "I'm sorry." he said shortly "I didn't mean to insult Potter, I just - I'm sorry I know he's…important to you." This sentence was managed with only a slight sneer at the mention of Harry's name and Ginny graciously accepted the apology. The two managed to stay in the library for the rest of the meeting with only slight bickering and it seemed a short while before they were being called down for dinner. Malfoy sat in his usual place at dinner and she noticed that he was as tense as usual now he was downstairs and with everyone else. When she went to bed that night as she switched off the light, she thought about her brother, ex boyfriend and best friend out there in the dangerous world. If anything happened to any of them how would she survive. She now had nobody to confide in. Nobody she could count on. Her other brothers were there and her parents but they were busy with the order. Not that she resented that, it was important but she felt so alone. Tears started to slide down her cheeks and she stifled her sobs into her pillow.

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Draco was lying in his bed, tossing and turning. He had been suffering from a lot of sleepless nights recently. Suddenly he felt he could hear something. He stayed still and pricked up his ears. It was crying, soft sobbing and seeing as Ginny's was the only occupied bedroom near him he figured it must be her. His first instinct was to scorn this sign of weakness from a blood-traitor Weasley girl. But the soft racking sobs sent a shiver through his body. He could almost feel her pain. So he stepped out of his door and slipped through the door of the room next door.

******************************************************

Through her tears Ginny suddenly heard the door open, she had no time to wipe her eyes so she simply laid still hoping whoever it was who had entered her room without knocking would not realise she had been crying. Little did she know her crying had brought Draco to her in the first place. Draco stepped towards her uncertainly. Then he sat down on the bed beside her and slipped his arms around her. She sat up and was shocked to see Draco's blond head staring down at her, compassion in his eyes. He slipped his arms around her shoulders and held her tight. At first she squirmed a little at his embrace but he seemed to only want to comfort her and she slipped her arms around him and held him tight as the tears dripped down her face. She could not believe she was in this situation. She was being held by Draco Malfoy. And it was making her feel better. She felt like he cared. She tipped her face upward to look at him. He stared at her face, inches from his, wiping a few tears from her cheeks until her face was dry.

"Are you alright?" he asked her. She nodded in reply. "Is it because you miss them?"

"I just feel so alone all the time." she sobbed. "I'm so close to those three and something might happen to them and I might never see them again."

"They- they'll come back. Potter will bring them all back safe again with his Gryffindor heroics." Ginny gave a small laugh.

"And-and you don't need to be alone anymore." He pulled her into his arms, completely furious at himself for showing such affection to a girl from this family he had hated for all of these years. He did not know how much time had passed before he realised that she was asleep. He gently prised her from his arms and laid her down on her pillow then left the room quietly, turning back one last time to take a look at her sleeping face.


End file.
